Lighter than air, long life polyester envelope embossed with holographic patterns

Abstract

A lighter-than-air holographic envelope such as a balloon decorated with a holographic pattern and having long float life (one week or longer) comprises a metal layer, an embossable layer, and a polymeric gas barrier of polyvinyl alcohol/polyvinyl amine copolymer crosslinked with citric acid and an optional additional crosslinking agent such as epichlorohydrin and a heat-seal layer.

We claim: 
     
         1 ) A method comprising (i) obtaining a film comprising a base layer having a first side and a second side, the base layer comprising one or more polymers comprising polyester, and a barrier layer coextensively adjacent in contact with the first side of the base layer, and (ii) applying a metalized embossed holographic pattern on the barrier layer to form an holographically-decorated composite barrier film. 
     
     
         2 ) The method of  claim 1 , wherein the holographically-decorated composite barrier film has an oxygen transmission rate of about 0.005-0.2 cm3/100 in2/day (about 0.08-3.1 cm3/m2/day) and a moisture vapor transmission rate of about 0.05-0.13 g/100 in2/day (about 0.8-2 g/m2/day). 
     
     
         3 ) The method of  claim 1 , wherein the base layer comprises a first layer comprising crystalline polyester. 
     
     
         4 ) The method of  claim 3 , wherein the base layer further comprises a second layer comprising amorphous copolyester. 
     
     
         5 ) The method of  claim 1 , further applying a sealant layer on the second side of the base layer. 
     
     
         6 ) The method of  claim 5 , further applying an anchor layer between the base layer and the sealant layer. 
     
     
         7 ) The method of  claim 1 , further comprising sealing edges of the holographically-decorated composite barrier film to form an holographic envelope. 
     
     
         8 ) The method of  claim 7 , wherein the envelope is configured to be a lighter-than-air holographic envelope when the holographic envelope is filled with a lighter-than-air gas. 
     
     
         9 ) The method of  claim 1 , wherein the barrier layer comprises modified polyvinyl amine comprising a vinylamine polymer crosslinked by citric acid. 
     
     
         10 ) The method of  claim 9 , wherein the vinylamine polymer is polyvinyl alcohol/polyvinyl amine copolymer. 
     
     
         11 ) An holographically-decorated composite barrier film comprising (i) a metalized embossed holographic pattern, (ii) a base layer having a first side and a second side, the base layer comprising one or more polymers comprising polyester, and (iii) a barrier layer coextensively adjacent in contact with the first side of the base layer, the barrier layer comprising modified polyvinyl amine comprising a vinylamine polymer crosslinked by citric acid. 
     
     
         12 ) The composite barrier film of  claim 11 , wherein the holographically-decorated composite barrier film has an oxygen transmission rate of about 0.005-0.2 cm3/100 in2/day (about 0.08-3.1 cm 3 /m 2 /day) and a moisture vapor transmission rate of about 0.05-0.13 g/100 in 2 /day (about 0.8-2 g/m 2 /day). 
     
     
         13 ) The composite barrier film of  claim 11 , wherein the vinylamine polymer comprises polyvinyl alcohol/polyvinyl amine copolymer. 
     
     
         14 ) The composite film of  claim 11 , wherein the base layer comprises a first layer comprising crystalline polyester. 
     
     
         15 ) The composite barrier film of  claim 14 , wherein the base layer further comprises a second layer comprising amorphous copolyester. 
     
     
         16 ) The composite barrier film of  claim 11 , wherein the base layer thickness is 24-48 G (6-12 μm, preferably around 36 G (9 μm). 
     
     
         17 ) The composite barrier film of  claim 11 , wherein the polyester base layer comprises 70-99.9%, 90-99.9%, or 95-99.9% ethyleneterephthalate repeat units. 
     
     
         18 ) A lighter-than-air holographic envelope comprising the composite barrier film of  claim 11 . 
     
     
         19 ) The lighter-than-air holographic envelope of  claim 18 , wherein the lighter-than-air holographic envelope has a float life in excess of 7 days, 15 days, or 20 days. 
     
     
         20 ) A method of manufacturing the composite barrier film of  claim 11 , the method comprising: (i) forming the base layer with the base layer having a length in a first technical direction and a width in a second technical direction transverse to the first technical direction, (ii) stretching the base layer in the first technical direction by a stretch factor of about 1-3 times the length, (iii) applying a coating of an aqueous solution of vinylamine polymer and citric acid onto a surface of the base layer, (iv) simultaneously (a) crosslinking the vinylamine polymer with the citric acid to form the barrier layer of modified polyvinyl amine and (b) stretching the base layer in the second technical direction by a stretch factor of about 3-5 times the width, (v) applying a sealant layer by extrusion coating, (vi) applying an embossable coating onto the barrier layer, (vii) creating the embossing pattern on the embossable coating to form an embossed layer, and (vii) applying metal layer on top of the embossed layer.